


Drunken Distress

by Sarcastic_Soulmate



Series: Season 3 Episodes [2]
Category: Parks and Recreation
Genre: F/M, Forbidden Love, Love, POV Alternating
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-12
Updated: 2020-10-16
Packaged: 2021-03-03 22:29:10
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 2,937
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24683119
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sarcastic_Soulmate/pseuds/Sarcastic_Soulmate
Summary: POVs from different characters during the episode 'The Fight' (S03E13.)
Relationships: Leslie Knope & Ann Perkins, Leslie Knope/Ben Wyatt
Series: Season 3 Episodes [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1927507
Comments: 6
Kudos: 20





	1. Scary

**Author's Note:**

> I have issues.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's scary how in many ways, it's not scary at all.

"Uh-oh, looks like someone's going to be late for her meeting." Ben smiles.

"Oh, I'll race you." Leslie returns the smile.

"Really? Isn't that a bit childish? " He runs off, Leslie starting after him.

Ann watches. Seriously, those two are going to kiss soon, she just knows it. The aftermath of that certainty, she doesn't know. Will they sneak around? Will they pretend it never happened? The possibilities are both endless and limited at the same time.

It's concerning, one of them is going to lose control. That's supposed to be a bad thing, but Ann can't help the smile that appears on her face.

Leslie is generous to everybody. She puts other people's needs before her own. It would be nice to see her get to do what she wants to do for once.

She has the strange feeling that it's all going to work out. They're not even together yet, and they're already being gross. She laughs at the thought. Leslie's optimism must have rubbed off. 

It's still scary, she doesn't want them to get fired. It would be nice for Leslie not to focus on her job for once, but that's not really an option when her desires get directly in the way of that. 

Although her crush may interrupt their catch-up sessions sometimes, she lets it slide. It's not often that Leslie finds a nice guy. 

Leslie's happiness is worth everything to her.

'To Ben too,' she thinks and chuckles.

She's been in positions where she couldn't go after the guy she liked. But it was often for more trivial reasons. Sometimes he had a girlfriend, or he was a more social person so he was always talking to people and she could never get a moment alone with him, the works. But it must be hard for 2 people to obviously like each other, but can't pursue it because of one big obstacle.

It's scary. 

Scary how Leslie has this chance for happiness. 

Scary how Ben has opened up to Leslie more in a few months than most do with lifelong friends. 

Scary how with just one kiss, everything can go to crap. They can get fired or suspended.

Scary how in many ways, it's not scary at all.


	2. Sorrow

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Leslie and Ben are sad.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have issues, sue me.

"She might be up all night, but I think someone else is going to be doing the cramming."

Leslie follows his gaze to see Ann dancing with The Douche. How could Ann do that? The least she could have done was tell her she was coming to the Snakehole Lounge so they could hang out together. She feels like she hasn't seen enough of her lately. 

_Oh._ Did she not want her to know? Oh, no, was Ann avoiding her? 

// 

Time passes. Drinks get drunk. Words are exchanged, and not loving ones. Leslie grimaces. Her whole life she's heard words that hurt more than bruises. 

She's been alone most of her life and she hated it. Is she going to be alone again? 

//

Ben hears the yelling. He hears the pain. It's familiar. The same pain he felt when his parents were always fighting, things being thrown, always ducking for cover, keeping your guard up. He almost had a heart attack when he realizes the voices are Leslie and Ann. That somehow hurts worse. 

He stands up to approach her. 

"Hey, are you okay? I heard yelling." Ben says, genuinely concerned. 

The anger is back. "Yeah, I'm very angry and I'm really drunk, do you wanna dance with me? Go get me another snorkjuice." 

_'Snorkjuice,'_ she thinks. _'Good god, Leslie, way to talk to your crush.'_ She shakes her head. There are more pressing matters right now.

_'God, could she be any more adorable?'_ Ben wonders. 

____

"Oh, that's maybe not the best idea for you," He says, going for a joke. 

____

"Forget it!" She yells. "Jean-Ralphio!" 

____

"Yes, I'm here." He appears, like a spirit who's been summoned. 

____

"Dance up on me," she commands, not wanting to take any more sadness tonight. 

____

Luckily, he doesn't seem to mind. "Yes. Yes. Yes." They leave, Ben slumping down in a chair. What just happened? 

____

"How's it going with her?" Andy questions. 

____

"Uh, well, nothing's going at all, really. Because the- I don't know. I feel like I just did something wrong. She didn't seem to want to talk to me." 

____

That, and the fact that Leslie and Jean-Ralphio dancing... like that... is pissing him off internally. 

____

He wanted to comfort her, but as he looks now, it's become some strange sort of competition between Leslie and Ann. There's a lot going on there. Then Andy and April are going around, saying strange things to freak people out, and Ron and Tom are somewhere, being Ron and Tom. He heard Donna and Chris were here too. He's never felt this alone while being surrounded by so many people. Or maybe he has, he remembers, shaking his head at Ice Town.

____

Poor Leslie. Poor Ann. They're fighting. From the looks of it, it doesn't seem to be something that happens often. He wishes there was something he could do. 

____

Ben feels like all he's been doing lately is moping around. And the problem is, it's not like there's not something that can stop it. There is. 

____

A specific person. A beautiful girl with blonde hair and blue eyes that he sometimes sees a sadness in, as if there's some long-repressed, deeply contained hurt that he just wants to kiss away. 

____

He shakes his head. He's sick of this dark, winding tunnel of emotions that he can't seem to escape from, and weirdly, doesn't want to. 

____

It'll work out. It has to. 

____

____

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some technical difficulties/me being an idiot and forgetting to change the publishing date of the draft made it so it didn't notify subscribers when I updated Conversations. I wanted to make sure that anyone following it got to read the new chapter lol. Also I need suggestions because I weirdly want to write an 8th chapter.


	3. Anger

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Leslie and Ann fight. Their anger is mutual, and it hurts them both.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Didn't do much Leslie/Ben here but I think I will in the next chapter. Also, I need to stop waiting a month to update xD.

"Sometimes, if I don't push you in the right direction, you end up standing still. I was just trying to do you a favor." Leslie said, clear venom in her voice. 

"Enough with your favors! Okay? Stop!" 

Leslie visibly dampens. "Maybe we shouldn't work together then." 

Ann throws her hands up in the air. "Maybe we shouldn't," she says, and then exits dramatically. 

//

Ann sits at a booth for a long time, waiting. She half-expected Leslie to come out apologizing, calling her a effervescent bumble bee. The other half was aware of her stubbornness. Why did she have to be so stubborn? 

Ann sighs and realizes she isn't innocent either. Instead of having a calm discussion, she blew up, causing Leslie to blow up and for this disaster to start. 

Maybe it was long overdue. Having been friends for so long, and having had different lives and interests, they were bound to clash soon. 

It doesn't make it any less horrible. 

Her best friend was Leslie; blonde, passionate Leslie who knew what she wanted. She could hardly say the same for herself. 

They were supposed to be each other's constants, because boyfriends would come and go, but their love would last forever. But Leslie didn't listen to Ann's feelings, and just went along with what she wanted to do. She was trying to help her though.... 

The way she's thinking right now, you'd think that she had a crush on her. She didn't, it was just.... lonely without her. She needs to feel that safety again. As infuriated as she feels right now, she needed her. They were inseparable since the day they met and even though they had differences, it just... worked. 

Little did she know, Leslie was in the bathroom, freaking out and feeling the exact same way.

// 

Leslie was angry. Angry that Ann couldn't see things her way, and angry that instead of thanking her, she exploded. Couldn't she see that she was trying to help her? Couldn't she see that making her happy was Leslie's favorite thing to do? Well, talking to Ben and doing Parks work were sort of tied with that, but that was neither here nor there.

Leslie has been alone most of her life. Her father passed when she was 10, and she was an only child to a busy, working, single mother. 

It might be why she gets so weird in relationships, maybe it was some void she was trying to fill, a childhood sadness she doesn't want to think about. 

But why? Why couldn't Ann see that she was just trying to help? Why did Ann yell at her and walk away? She can't take this anymore. 

Ann's words ring in her ears. "Maybe you think I'm going too fast because you're going too slow with Ben." 

She was right. But she might lose her job, and he would lose his. It's a pretty good excuse. 

They were just trying to protect each other. Ann wanted her to be happy with Ben, and Leslie wanted her to take it slower, find a relationship that was worth it, instead of seemingly shopping around for the 'perfect' guy. She knows that isn't what Ann was doing, but it still feels weird. 

Leslie feels the tears in her eyes, and blinks them back. She won't cry. Not about Ann, not about anyone. She knows she's stronger than that. It still hurts, though. 

She's sad and angry at the same time, but mostly angry. She's forcing away the sad. If she just focuses on the anger, she won't fall apart. 

At least, that's what she's telling herself.


	4. Regret

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Flashbacks. Tons of regret.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm dead. Please let me know of any typos, I was too lazy to proofread.

Ann walks into her house and flops herself on top of the couch after locking the door.

Today had been such a whirlwind, and the Snakejuice didn't make it any better.

She groans in pain and falls asleep.

// 

Donna drops Leslie off at her house, and she wobbles out of the car. 

They all give their respective goodbyes to her in their drunken state and they wait for her to get into her house safely before driving off.

// 

Leslie wakes up, not realizing she had fallen asleep. She glances over at the clock. 5am! She should be getting up now. 

Her head is throbbing, and she walks around in confusion before memories of the night before slowly flood her mind.

Leslie's eyes widen in horror at the fight she had with Ann, and blinks back tears.

She instinctively goes into fix-it mode. How can she fix this? She doesn't want to give up, but what if she can't fix it? What if their friendship was ruined forever?

She didn't want to think about it, but with her luck, it was the only thing on her mind.

//

She takes a cab to the Parks Department. Best to not drive hungover and regretful. That was a disaster waiting to happen. She technically wasn't drunk, but... she wasn't in the best state of mind, and definitely not in the mood to drive. 

That brings us to where she is now, laying down on the floor in front of her desk in her hungover daze. Not exactly asleep, but not awake and alert either. If not for her heels sticking out, no one would have noticed she was even there at first glance.

"Leslie?" An exhausted voice whispers. He sounded the way she felt. 

"I'm here!" She exclaims, forcing herself up to meet his eyes. 

"We have to go hire a new P.R. Director for the Health Department."

"Oh my God, I'm so hungover. I've never been this hungover." She takes a breath. "Are we dead?" 

"I feel great. I ran 5k this morning." 

"Really?" She says, impressed. Sounds more like something Chris would do. He probably forced him into it. The same way he forced them into their awkward interactions. Well, he didn't know, and it wasn't a bad rule, she just hates how much she wants to break it. 

"No, I threw up in the shower." 

Makes more sense. 

// 

During the interviews, she can't help but wish that Ann was there. She reminded herself to call her later, then remembers the fight. Shit. 

All she wanted to do was help Ann, and instead, she ruined their friendship by not listening to what she wanted, then blew up when she tried to explain her point of view. She holds in a groan. 

She's filled with so much regret right now, it's insane. 

Insane how she wonders what Ann is feeling right now. Well, she always wonders that, it's why she calls her 20 times a day. This time, she couldn't do anything. 

// 

Ann lifts herself off the couch and finds an mirror to glance at herself in. 

Ouch. Her hair is tangled and everywhere, while her eyes are bloodshot and her makeup is ruined. 

She thinks hard about what could have happened last night, and is appalled.

Flashes of yelling and anger between she and Leslie almost sobered her up completely. 

Ann sits at her table and rests her head in her hands. She acted like a real jerk yesterday, and while she's not the only one at fault, she definitely could have acted differently. 

Now she's just filled with regret. Regret on regret on regret, and fear of losing the most meaningful relationship she's ever had.

Despite all the pain she finds herself in, the regret hurts the most.


	5. Relief

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> At the end of it all, everyone is relieved.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> let me know of any typos

Ben doesn't like to see Leslie upset. It broke his heart earlier when she replied "No, I'm sad," so he felt like he should do something. 

He was under no obligation to do this, he wasn't involved in their friendship, and the Human Disaster part of Ben makes him feel like he's overstepping, but he knows they both feel awful. He knows the classic story of all hell breaking loose when people get drunk and they let their guard down and word vomit everywhere. He's been through that too many times himself. 

He just didn't want Leslie and Ann to end because of that. 

So that brings him here, at Ann's house, rapidly knocking on the door. 

Ann answers the door, her hair tangled, her eyes dull and lifeless, and her makeup smeared all over her face. 

He can tell she's had a rough night. 

But no rougher than Leslie passed out on the ground in her office with her legs sticking out pointing at the door. That was an interesting sight to come across. 

//

"You're nice. I can see why she likes you." 

Ben could feel the dopey grin appearing on his face. "When did she say- likes me?" 

"Oh, God, this is so high school. Just rent a limo, ask her to the prom, I'm sure she'll say yes." Ann tells him. 

"Alright. Thanks." 

Ben leaves after that. 

He obviously didn't think Ann would tell him that bit of information, but he was glad she did. He couldn't tell if she blurted it out by accident, or if she just genuinely wanted him to know. Seemed like the latter. 

It's sinking in right about now. The girl he likes, likes him back? He was already thinking that maybe it wasn't one-sided, but his crippling anxiety made him doubt himself. But now he had Ann to confirm his suspicion, and the smile on his face probably wouldn't disappear for a while. 

And he feels relieved, because he doesn't really want it to anyway. 

// 

"This committee would like to ask if you are the kind of candidate who could forgive someone after they behaved like a complete jackass." 

"This candidate could, especially because this candidate also behaved like a total jackass." 

"Please, don't worry about it. The committee totally understands." 

// 

After they puke in the wastebasket, they go back to Ann's house and have a long talk. All was forgiven, but they both felt like they needed to explain a little more. 

Ann apologizes for what she said about Ben, because Leslie's job is kind of a good excuse for playing it safe. 

Leslie apologizes for judging Ann's dating life, because maybe she did feel a little jealous that Ann seemed to be on top of the world. Then Leslie explained to her that she wanted her to take the job so they could spend more time together and both be able to do something they love at the same time, and Ann understood. 

She even scheduled a second interview with Chris. 

Then they drink apple cider and eat ice cream while talking about guys. 

"So... I might've told Ben you liked him earlier today." Ann grins. 

"What? Ann! Why would you do that?" Leslie looks down at the ground sheepishly and back at her. "What did he say?" 

"There it is. He just smiled and left. I remember telling him something about asking you to the prom. I might've still been a little bit drunk." 

"Ann, you tricky minx, you knew exactly what you were doing." Leslie giggles, feeling relieved at their comfortable conversation. They got back on the right foot, and now they'll never stop running. 

"I admit nothing." 

"So how long do you think it'll last with The Douche?" Leslie takes a spoonful of the vanilla ice cream and passes the container to Ann.

"I'm not sure. I don't think we're going to get married if that's what you're asking." 

Leslie shakes her head, amused. "Well, like you said, 'he's dumb, but he's fun.'" 

"Amen." Ann spoons the ice cream into her mouth, exhaling in pleasure when the coldness reached her throat. 

They both were relieved that they got their groove back after the night they had. Regretful words and sharp retorts, loud screams and drunken slurs. As their hangovers cured, they would remember more and more about what happened last night, and would apologize once they remembered a hurtful insult. 

But most of all, they both shared in the relief that no matter what fight they had, what guy they liked, the career goals they had, their bond would never be broken.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also when I do more of these things, I'm gonna try and include all the characters, I feel like I could have done better on this fic.


End file.
